February 8, 2017

I have to give a lot of credit to the company and Jim Shooter as a whole for this creative project. There was a lot within the real creation of this company - and I don't think many people gave the real credit he and it deserved years later. I know that many people have been real worshipers of the Defiant industry as a whole -and really it only existed for about a year - which was about the time that Shooter spent at Valiant before he was extricated from the company. Valiant was closer to sixteen months - and this was only about thirteen. The company and this launch also took tremendous risks. Numerous things within both the company and the production of the comic itself were serious changes within the comics industry. It was really betting on the cards and comics industry's continuous expansion - and the willingness and interest of comics investors to continue to purchase for later sales - devoting serious amounts of coin to what would become essentially worthless. On top of that, the company made a few decisions that really destroyed the potential value to consumers. I can remember returning from college to see the local comic book shop - and at that time settling out my account. Somewhere in 1993, I went back to Mad Cat Comics - not most certainly destroyed and a memory - and I purchased the remains of my Valiant pull boxes - and told the owners to please stop holding comics - my poor college student status was destroying my cash flow. The owner/manager at the time told me at that point that he wasn't able to even hold a copy of the binder for me any longer - which was somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 - if I recalled correctly. He told me that all first run orders were actually cut into sixths. Something about the actual order was for cases - but they had only fulfilled binders. So when he had ordered 30 or something - since they came in cases of six - he only received five. With the hold, he had to sell them, but would be happy to pass along a second print if I wanted. Me, breathing a sigh of relief, thought - I won't have to come up with another $30 that I don't have! In addition, adding to complexities, the company produced the two different sets of cards with SUPER-limited runs (at the time) in each of the tins - and collectors were bound to be deterred. On top of all this, Shooter was creating a particularly unfound ground for the time. To really create this new world - and a completely science-fiction one instead of the world next door - or the REAL-er world next door - it was seriously ground-breaking. And very different from what he had done. Plus, the guy's set of ideas may have been hitting the end. Finally, the comic was encountering a silly attack from the juggernaut Marvel (then floundering) with a completely unfounded attack by Plasmer? Similar? Probably - but insane? Absolutely. But the comic? Really an odd brilliant concept inserted into a comic. Without even knowing how the comic really plays out through the whole mess - the idea's foundation is pretty good. The recyclability - much like the worship of plant life within all of the newer world of Valiant. The hierarchy within the government's standing also makes a few interesting points, too. The lesser beings are worthy of saving - for re-use. Government officials aren't necessary to completely re-use. But the test put to the end of the comic made the most extreme statement - especially after the loss. Combine that with the bonus comic available at the end - Splatterball - that made for a great concept.